Ambitious plans for a £55million learning campus in Kent face fresh uncertainty after the Government announced the abolition of the Learning and Skills Council, its main backer.

The LSC said it was too early to say what might happen to the scheme, which would have seen a campus for 14,000 students in Ashford in 2010.

However, it has emerged rising costs have prompted Ashford’s Future – the body responsible for overseeing the creation of tens of thousands of new homes and jobs in the area – to offer money to keep the project alive.

Discussions have also been held about whether universities would be prepared to invest in the plan.

The news of the LSC’s abolition, coupled with the offer of money from Ashford’s Future, will renew questions about whether the so-called ‘multi-versity’ on a site at Victoria Road will now go ahead.

The LSC said no immediate decisions would be made. The abolition of the quango was announced last week but is not expected to happen until 2010. Money that has gone to the LSC to support education for 16- to 19-year-olds will now go to local education authorities.

An LSC spokeswoman said: “Things will be going on as normal. It [the abolition] might not have any impact whatsoever.”

Doubts about the future of the learning campus plan surfaced last year when the LSC confirmed it had commissioned what was described as “a strategic options review of learning and skills provision in the South East.”

Some secondary schools are said to have questioned the demand for such a large college in the face of declining pupil numbers and the development of their own vocational courses.

Cllr Paul Clokie, chairman of the Ashford’s Future partnership said: “The Ashford Learning Campus project will not be affected by possible changes to the Learning and Skills Council.

“The Ashford’s Future partnership is determined to see the scheme delivered and will assist the Learning and Skills Council and South Kent College in any way it can to see the project become a reality.

“The Learning Campus is a vital development for the future of Ashford. It will make an important contribution to the regeneration and growth of Ashford by equipping young people and adults with the skills they need.”